Does it really matter, Jacob? I think that, when it comes to bicycles, the laws of physics are adequate here. Not too many cyclists are cruising around New York City at 25 mph, and that includes the food delivery guy on the electric bike salmoning right at you with the cigarette dangling from his mouth and the plastic bags hanging off his handlebars. While you're at it you might as well wonder if the 25 mph limit will apply to pedestrians, too.

But on Tuesday morning, the NYPD took it to a new level, setting up a speed trap, radar gun and all, at the bottom of a Central Park hill, where they gave ten tickets to cyclists traveling over 15 mph. (The speed limit is actually 25 mph, says Central Park's official website.) By Tuesday night, police were already backtracking."We have taken a proactive approach to ensure that people improperly issued a summons will be notified," said a Police Department spokesperson.

Another component of the "Vision Zero" plan involves slowing down taxi drivers, who seem to think they're performing a public service on par with fighting fires and driving ambulances, when mostly they're just providing drunk people with a warm place to paw at each other on the way home from the bar:

Mr. de Blasio released a 63-point action plan, titled "Vision Zero," that outlines his administration's strategy to reduce traffic-related deaths. The measures include beefing up the enforcement of speeding, redesigning streets and exploring new technology that would reduce taxi fares when the drivers speed.

Which the drivers say is "insane Big Brother:"

The workers alliance said: "To shut off the meter in the middle of a fare is not only insane Big Brother, it's severe, cruel, and simply unhelpful."

Wow, a Big Brother reference regarding a safety feature? Hey, what's that I hear? Oh, it's a typewriter! Oh, wow, George Orwell is typing you a message from beyond the grave!

Tullio Campagnolo invented the quick-release skewer more than 80 years ago, and for all intents and purposes, the basic internal-cam design he pioneered has changed little since then. If anything, many modern skewers have actually gotten worse and it wasn't long ago that I called for all of the crappy ones to be banished from existence. Today, however, I think the time is fast approaching that we should consider getting rid of quick-release skewers entirely.

Why? Because we can, and Tullio Campagnolo is dead, and something something 29ers:

Yes, tradition is a powerful motivator and it's great that there are so many years' worth of compatible products out there. Truth be told, though, the bikes we're riding now are pretty far removed from what Eddy Merckx used back in the day. Recent years have demonstrated that the cycling industry won't hesitate to toss traditional equipment standards out the window if there's an engineering (or marketing) argument for something better.Heck, 26-inch wheels have been the de facto standard in the mountain bike world since the Repack days but in just a couple of years they've been practically erased from the landscape.

Wait a minute. Did he just say "the bikes we're riding now are pretty far removed from what Eddy Merckx used back in the day?" Is he kidding? Here's the bike Eddy Merckx used "back in the day" (with him on it):

This is far removed? It's a diamond frame with two wheels. The shifters are more conveniently located, you don't need straps to keep your feet on the pedals (well, actually, this bike doesn't even have pedals buy you know what I mean), and it's probably slightly lighter than what Merckx rode during his career, but that's pretty much it. Otherwise, the concept is almost entirely unchanged.

Now if this is what the pros were riding in the Grand Tours, then maybe James Huang would have a point:

Sadly, however, it is not.

Really, you could make a pretty good argument that the only significant change in professional bicycle racing technology over the past 100 years is in the pharmacology, which has obviously improved tremendously, to wit:

(Then.)

(Now. Or at least recently. We still don't know what Sky is taking.)

Ah, Amgen, makers of both EPO and the Tour of California. I wonder if strychnine manufacturers also sponsored races "back in the day."

Anyway, apart from the fact that thru-axles exist, are a slight improvement for certain kinds of off-road bicycles that you ride at high speed down rocky mountain faces (but not for your dainty little cross-country bike, just get over yourself, will you?), and would require you to "upgrade" your equipment, James Huang puts forth no other reason for thru-axles on road bikes, apart from the fact that they're getting slightly less inconvenient:

Thru-axles as they stand now are generally slower to operate than quick-release skewers but even that's changing. Focus recently introduced a novel thru-axle design called RAT (Rapid Axle Technology) that could legitimately turn the tides. The system requires just a flick of the lever and a quarter turn to engage and disengage. Even better, the system retains its adjustment with repeated use so at least in theory, it's roughly on par with a lawyer tab-equipped quick-release system in terms of speed while also offering the benefits of more repeatable wheel position and increased stiffness and security.

Look, I realize the UCI now requires riders to keep the "lawyer tabs" on their forks, but I file those fuckers right off, and there is nothing faster, more pleasing, or more satisfying than flicking that quick release and watching your wheel fall out of the fork like an undersized butt plug out of Tom Barraga.

("Moved on up to the 'thru-axle,' this baby ain't going nowhere.")

And yes, I could forget to fasten my quick release properly, but I could also forget to flush the toilet for five months and die of hepatitis. Anyway, I always wear a helment while I'm on the terlet, so it's a risk I'm willing to take.

So, to summarize the pro-thru-axle argument for road bikes:

1) They're almost as convenient as a quick release on a fork with lawyer tabs;
2) They're heavier than a quick release, but soon they won't be, because they'll make lighter road bike ones that obviate the theoretical "stiffness benefits" that don't mean shit anyway;
3) There are a lot of shitty quick release skewers on the market, but this is the bike industry, and you can be sure no one will build a shitty thru-axle;
3.5) Mountain bikes and 29ers are things that exist;
4) YOU GET TO BUY NEW STUFF!

Well, I'm sold. I plan to upgrade all my front ends immediately, even though I'll need to get new hubs. And new forks. And new frames, because the new fork will have a different steer tube diameter. And new everything else, because the new frame will be electronic-and-disc specific.

Actually, maybe the bikes we ride now are totally different from what Eddy Merckx rode "back in the day."

No. No, they're not. They're almost exactly the same, apart from the fact that manufacturers have managed to make all the new stuff completely incompatible with the old stuff.

And they're plastic.

Lastly, a reader in London reports that this is the extent to which "Cat 6" racing is engrained in the London bicycle commuting culture:

I'm actually excited about the h-zontal because it appears to combine my two favorite things - biking and humping. Now I can freely switch from riding my bike to riding my wife with only a nearly-imperceptible change of scenery.

If anyone knows the Metro bike shop on like 15th and 6th in Manhattan, I went in once last summer for a simple something or other.

Went back an hour later to pick it up. Before I could even ask for them to get it out of the back, I just see it see it right up in the front leaning against a bunch of their other bikes (or anyone's other bikes). Just kinda sitting there.

I really let them have it too, how they could just leave it there -- to say nothing of anyone walking out with it, which would've been pretty easy, getting knocked around with the other bikes or by anyone thinking it was a shop bike... Not just any clunker, either.

Well for convenience's sake, I might've been pleased -- to simply scoot right outta the door with it myself w/o even having to pay for the miniscule repair, like the dude in that video.

But it was right near the door, had obviously been sitting there a while, and it kinda occurred to me anyone else could've done the same -- scoot right outta the door with it, like the dude in that video. But with my bike.

I think James Huang may need to abandon his quick release skewers and become a quick relief spewer because HE WOULD GET TO BUY NEW STUFF. Abandon the pretense of being a well-respected cycling journalist, which is really just a form of chronic mental masturbation, and become a chronic masturbator instead. If he gets a butt plug too he would GET TO BUY NEW STUFF and get stuffed at the same time. It's a win-win for Mr. Huang.

I don't mean to shit on a particular LBS (maybe I shouldn't've mentioned it specifically), but it's not like the ppl working there were really attentive to begin with (I don't mean with me, I just mean in general). And it is kind of a bustling shop/area.

I could just imagine going to pick it up, and it not being there -- and the aloof staffers people being all like, well we left it right there... And then some dude comes back having taken it for a test spin or some shit.

AngryAsian (AA) is helping keep his own job around by shilling for the bike industry.

Why? Because the bike brands know that road-type bikeen product should have thru-axles if the road bikeen product is going to really switch entirely to disc breaks on the road products.

FWIW, You guys with the disk breaks and QR, on roadie-type forks should keep those lawyer tabs on. The way the caliper is mounted to the fork makes a rotational force that loosens and twists the wheel out of traditional fork dropout when using the front brake.

Don't get clever and "invent" a left-hand threaded front QR. It could tighten to failure!

So, thru-axles is fixing the problem the right way. Now, they need a fork maker to sell a complete fork and a roadie thru axle hub. And AngryAsian is trying his best to make it happen!

A friend of mine was preparing to load his bike on a roof rack (on the car that he owns). After opening the quick release and removing the wheel he grabbed the fork only to have one of the fork legs snap off at the crown.

Apparently the crown had not been correctly brazed to the steerer tube and the only thing holding the left fork leg in place was the tiny piece of metal around the brake bolt, that AND THE QUICK RELEASE! This was the day after exceeding fred whoo-hoo speed.

So it would seem the the humble, lowly, Tullio Campagnolo quick release is up to the job.

For bouncy forks like on a mountaining bicycle sure. But with rigid road forks, meh.

Apparently Jaywalking tickets have increased 8 fold from last year (while tickets for moving violations have decreased). Because we all have witnessed the horrifying carnage caused by two jaywalkers colliding. Thank god something is finally being done. Vision Zero Sense.

Sorry I'm late. Work has been busy, plus my company decided to take a giant dump on my ability to comment from my work computer. I have to comment now from my max-Ipad which is a slight pain in the scranus.

Let us not forget Orwells warning:

"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Scranus is steel."

RCT: That's exactly what I was thinking of when balls mentioned the tandem. I think it was supposed to be sexual. But all I could think of was the poor sap in the back getting the butt-draft straight to the face.

Let me introduce you all to the technology of MOUSE (Mostly Overpriced and Useless Shit for Exhibitionists) or perhaps instead could I interest you some 15 mm nuts and a fookin' wrench that man first used when he crawled out of the primordial slime and figured out that two wheels mounted on a triangular frame worked just fine and that being a good rider trumps all micro refinements.

"The only quality remotely redeeming about the H-zontal is the ease of on-the-bike flatulence. No more of that slight lifting off the seat messing with "

You ignore the most important part. Our physics tells us that every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Instead of listing you off your seat thus slowing you down due to increased air resistance, you'll effortlessly reach woo-hoo speed.

Which presents the obvious dilemma. Shoot for woo-hoo speed or present yourself for proper queenie inspection.

robot sez culture amforei. I'd like to know where in this forum it found any culture. amforei or not

I remember that when my headlight burnt out in my car I could just buy a generic one at just about anywhere for a few bucks install it the parking lot and continue on my way. I know the newest ones are brighter and better but who cares when 99% of my time behind the wheel is spent stuck in stop and go traffic or just sitting and idling. Time to get a bike.

I think you are right about the caliper needing to be far forward to eliminate the wrong twist force on the QR.

It's been too long since I've thought about it.

Though, I am positive, somewhere on the Internets is a thorough engineer's analysis of the dick break + QR situation with the whys and wherefores in mind numbing detail, illustrations and maths included.

Has nobody seen fit to point out that you don't need a new fork to switch to a thru axle? front qr axles are 9mm. So are 9mm thru axles. So no new fork and new frame, not because of the 9mm thru axle. It's a clever retrofit and can help stiffen things up. Definitely thinking about going this route whenever I build a new mtb wheel. A 10mm thru axle can be used in the rear, also without changing anything but the hub.-DP

Wow, I love the new BSNYC retrogrouchery. And the me-too peanut gallery. I don't have any opinion on the bikeradar editorial staff, but thru-axles (or 9mm thru-bolts) offer very perceivable improvement in front-end stiffness. I notice it every time I climb a hill or stand on the pedals. Why wouldn't I choose a thru-axle system? Maybe a little "don't knock it until you've tried it" advice is in order here.

About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!